Young children are naturally curious to learn and have an innate desire to be active participants in their learning. The early learning program at St Catherine’s offers the children a myriad of opportunities within the indoor and outdoor learning programs, and weekly specialist classes to develop dispositions for learning. Children are provided with a range of experiences that are carefully planned and designed to develop and enhance their learning. The sounds and sights of children exploring, wondering and making new discoveries is evident to see throughout Campbell House on a daily basis.

St Catherine’s Early Learning Centre provides the children a myriad of opportunities to develop dispositions for learning.

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia details specific outcomes in relation to learning that educators work towards with children during their time in the St Catherine’s Early Learning Centre (ELC).

Learning Outcome 4 – Children are confident and involved learners:

• Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.
• Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.
• Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another.
• Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials.

Children use processes such as exploration, investigation, collaboration and problem solving through all aspects of the early learning program. Developing dispositions such as curiosity, persistence and creativity enables children to participate in and gain from learning. Effective learners are also able to transfer what they have learned from one context to another. They also begin to learn where and how to resource their own learning.

Children develop understandings of themselves and their world through active, hands-on investigation. They need many opportunities to play, explore and discover using all of their senses. This is how they begin to make sense of their world. It also builds the children’s understanding of concepts and their creative thinking and inquiry processes. These are the foundations for lifelong learning.

Our aim is for the children to become confident and involved learners over time. This enables the children to become increasingly able to take responsibility for their own learning, personal regulation and contribution to the social environment.

As Educators, we look forward to the children’s individual and group learning developing over the course of the year. It is always wonderful to observe children making new discoveries and connecting with the world around them.

The children in the St Catherine’s ELC learn about themselves and the world around them through hands-on investigation.

Perceptual Motor Program

We look forward to the commencement of the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) next term. All ELC classes will participate in PMP classes on a Monday each week with Mrs Jenny De Nardis. This a great opportunity for the children to develop their physical skills in relation to balance, strength, coordination, locomotion and spatial awareness. We do require parent assistance to implement the PMP classes. If you are able to assist, please write your name on the PMP roster in your child’s classroom.